''Scolecenchelys profundorum'' is an

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

in the family

Ophichthidae Ophichthidae is a family of fish in the order Anguilliformes, commonly known as the snake eels. The term "Ophichthidae" comes from Greek ''ophis'' ("serpent") and ''ichthys'' ("fish"). Snake eels are also burrowing eels. They are named for thei ...

(worm/snake eels).''Scolecenchelys profundorum''
at www.fishbase.org. It was described by

John E. McCosker John Edward McCosker is an American ichthyologist and as has been part of expeditions to many countries such as Antarctic, Australia, and the Galapagos. After extensive study and ten expeditions he is one of the foremost experts on the Galapago ...

and

Nikolai Vasilyevich Parin Nikolai Vasilyevich Parin (21 November 1932 – 18 April 2012) was a Soviet and Russian ichthyologist, specializing in oceanic pelagic fish. He headed the Laboratory of Oceanic Ichthyofauna at the RAS Institute of Oceanology in Moscow, where he ...

in 1995, originally under the genus ''

Muraenichthys ''Muraenichthys'' is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae. Species There are currently 8 recognized species in this genus: * ''Muraenichthys gymnopterus'' ( Bleeker, 1853) * ''Muraenichthys hattae'' D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 19 ...

''.McCosker, J. E. and N. V. Parin, 1995 ef. 21924''A new species of deepwater worm-eel, Muraenichthys profundorum (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae), from the Nazca Ridge.'' Japanese Journal of Ichthyology v. 42 (no. 3/4): 231-235. It is a

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

, deep water-dwelling eel which is endemic to the

Nazca Ridge The Nazca Ridge is a submarine ridge, located on the Nazca Plate off the west coast of South America. This plate and ridge are currently subducting under the South American Plate at a convergent boundary known as the Peru-Chile Trench at appro ...

in the southeastern

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

. It is known to dwell at a depth of . Males can reach a maximum

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

of . The

species epithet Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany) A botanical name ...

"''profundorum''" means "of the depths" in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

, and refers to the deep-water habitat of the eel.

References

Fish described in 1995 profundorum {{Ophichthidae-stub